


Grow Old With Me

by BewareOfTheTriangle



Series: KuroBas - Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M, Tumblr Prompt, immortality AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-05-02 04:06:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5233430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BewareOfTheTriangle/pseuds/BewareOfTheTriangle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tumblr Prompt: Imagine person A of your OTP is immortal, and falls in love with person B who is mortal. After a long and happy life, person B begins to die</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grow Old With Me

I was 23 when I first met him; drunkenly flopped across a bar counter, gaining a seemingly disapproving look from the bartender as he demanded another shot. His eyes were red. I wasn’t entirely sure of the cause of that at the time – although the instinctive assumption was that the redness was caused by the high consumption of alcohol, the redness was also evident beneath his eyes, as though the skin had been irritated.  
The bar began to empty at around eleven, many people likely having to wake early for work the next morning. I’d been granted a week off work due to my grandfather’s passing, and had turned to alcohol, planning to kill all of the emotions which I kept within. I’d stopped when I began to feel overly lightheaded and began to drink nothing but water, planning to avoid the added pain of a hangover.  
It was almost one in the morning by the time that I eventually spoke to him, mere minutes before last call. His drinking had continued since I first walked in. The staff had encouraged him to stop at multiple points, but he’d continuously insisted that he was fine, that he was used to it. Despite the dangerously high amount of alcohol in his system, he had managed to stay until closing time without being ejected. I hadn’t intended to stay for the entire night, but I was somehow concerned for this lone stranger, _drawn_ to him, almost.  
“Excuse me…”  
He failed to respond even as I placed myself on the bar stool next to him and repeated myself. I gently nudged him with my elbow, causing his head to slowly rise, turning round to face me.  
“Huh?”  
“We’ll be forced to leave soon. Will you be alright getting home?”  
He narrowed his eyes at me, rubbing his forehead with one hand as he spoke with a low, rusty voice. “Uh. I’m fine. Probably.” He ran his hand through his hair with a deep sigh.  
“How do you intend to get home?”  
His irises appeared murky as he looked at me, hand still amidst his hair. “Dunno. Taxi.” He began to fish through his pockets and removed his wallet, wincing at the thinness of it. “Or not.”  
I rested an elbow atop the counter as he released another sigh, slamming his wallet onto the counter before holding his head in both hands. “No money, I assume?”  
“Mm.”  
“Last call, guys.”  
I glanced at the bartender before returning my gaze to the horribly drunk man afore me, checking my own wallet. “How far from here do you live?”  
“Mm. Not far…”  
“I could pay for a taxi for you.”  
He waved his hand vaguely in the air before responding. “S’fine. I can walk.”  
“No disrespect intended, but I don’t think that’s particularly safe considering your current condition, sir.”  
A deep huff of laughter left his lips. “’Sir’?”  
“I don’t know your name.”  
“Hmph,” he turned to me, not meeting my eyes. “Aomine Daiki.”  
“Right.” I began to stand. “Then please allow me to provide money for a taxi, Aomine-san.”  
“Fine. Whatever.”  
He slowly pushed himself to his feet, his large frame drooping with the burden of the alcohol. He stumbled as he began to walk, instantly falling onto me, an arm draped around my shoulders, and my body almost folded beneath his weight, only marginally helped by the support of the table beside me. I tensed as I attempted to guide him out of the bar.  
I released him onto a nearby bench as I awaited the arrival of a taxi, briefly glancing back at Aomine, who already seemed alarmingly close to falling. I clenched my jaw tightly as I rushed to the edge of the pavement, hailing an approaching taxi. My jaw became tighter as the driver failed to notice me, passing by without the slightest hesitation.  
It took multiple attempts within at least half an hour for a taxi to stop, and another 5 minutes to drag Aomine towards it and place him in a sitting position. I released a deep exhale as I fastened my seatbelt, my mind fuzzy as both he and I mindlessly spoke our addresses to the driver.  
I turned to him, noticing that his seatbelt was unfastened, but did nothing about it. “I hope you’re not intending to continue drinking when you get home, Aomine-san.”  
“Mm. Not like I’m going to die of alcohol poisoning or anything.” He turned to face me, his head resting against the back of the seat. “Hey. What’s your name?”  
“It’s Kuroko Tetsuya.”  
“Ah.”  
The remainder of the brief car journey was silent, causing the few minutes to feel as though they were stretching out into hours, the silence only ending when we stopped outside Aomine’s apartment. He clumsily fumbled with the door handle, pausing before he exited the car, and he looked at me, his eyes slightly less clouded.  
“Thanks, Kuroko…”

It was only 2 weeks later when we met again, in a coffee shop. He was just 3 places behind me in the queue, a phone in his hand and a dull expression on his face.  
I spoke to him as we waited for the arrival of our drinks.  
“Hello, Aomine-san.”  
He turned to me with a frown of confusion, pocketing his phone. “Hah? How do you know my name?”  
I allowed a small smile to reach my lips. “It certainly makes sense why you don’t remember me, considering how drunk you were.”  
His frown remained, before converting to an expression of worry. “I didn’t…do anything with you, right?”  
I laughed quietly. “No, Aomine-san.” I paused to thank the barista as I received my vanilla latte, then reverted my attention to Aomine. “I paid for a taxi for you, since you had no money.”  
I approached the end of the counter, pouring (a potentially overly large amount of) sugar into my cup.  
“Ah, right,” he stared at the floor, then shook his head. “Sorry. Don’t really remember anything…but thank you, for doing that.”  
“That’s quite alright, Aomine-san.”  
I promptly sat at the comfortable seats in the corner of the café, resting my cup atop the table as I did so, and removed a book from my bag. I began to read, but soon became unable to focus on any of the words, the ink on the page seeming to blur together into an incoherent blob.  
The thought of the man hadn’t left my mind since the previous fortnight, endlessly circling my mind. I was unsure of the reason; was it simply related to my curiosity as to why he’d been drowning his sorrows until one in the morning? Was it because I’d been tempted to do the same myself upon the passing of my grandfather? Or was it related to the shallow thought that the man was attractive? Perhaps a combination of multiple reasons? Now that I’d coincidentally met him again, I didn’t doubt that the recently-fading thoughts would return; especially upon seeing that he was beginning to walk towards my table.  
“Can I sit here?”  
I nodded, though my focus remained on the book afore me, only being diverted when he began to speak.  
“How much was the taxi?”  
I lowered the book to meet his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. My apartment was in a similar direction, anyway.”  
“Mm,” He used a spoon to remove a small blob of whipped cream from the top of his cup. “No, that doesn’t sit right with me. I still owe you.”  
“I assure you, it really doesn’t matter.”  
His eyes burned into mine. “Are you sure?”  
I looked back, lowering my book further until it reached the table. “Perhaps you can buy me another coffee.”

We moved in together when I was 29.  
Our second meeting had led to multiple dates, and for feelings to develop. As far as I was concerned, we were going to grow old together. We, of course, had many arguments, but solved each of them. We found that, despite our completely different personalities, we worked well together: he was happy to make decisions while I was indecisive; he was honest and open while I was accepting; he provided fun while I provided support. Our opposites were well-balanced, causing our relationship to be the same.  
I smiled as Aomine wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, nuzzling his face into my neck.  
“Aomine-kun,” I laughed softly, placing the mugs on the kitchen counter. “We’ve barely started unpacking. Go and get the other boxes.”  
“But Tetsuuu…” He continued to nuzzle into me, his grip tightening.  
“The van is waiting, Aomine-kun,” I responded, attempting to force his arms away. However, I failed, my slim arms as ineffective in budging his muscular ones as a leaf attempting to move a tree. I laughed breathily as he rested his chin on my shoulder.  
“It can keep waiting.”  
“No, it can’t. Go get the boxes.”  
I shivered as he sighed against my skin before speaking. “Fiiiiine…”  
A smile crossed my lips as I continued to unpack, struggling to drag another box through to the kitchen. I considered attempting to lift it onto the table, but quickly realised that I wouldn’t succeed and, assuming that I even _managed_ to lift the box, I’d inevitably drop it before it reached the height of the table. I instead resorted to taking each of the individual items from the box until it eventually dropped to a weight low enough for me to manage.  
“That’s the last box!” Aomine’s voice was strained, accompanied by quiet huffs of breath as he placed the box in the hall, leaning back afterwards to steady his breath. He began to laugh. “Shit, that was heavy.”  
I set the last of the kitchen items in the cupboard, and closed it before joining Aomine in the hall, who then walked forward with outstretched arms before flopping heavily on top of me.  
I released a laugh, and he did the same, his breath on my neck. “You’re very heavy.”  
“You’re just very weak.” He returned his weight to his own feet, and looked down at me. “Can we take a break now?”  
“If we must.”  
He grinned widely at me before sweeping me into a bridal position, and I squeaked in surprise. He leaned down to speak deeply into my ear. “Why don’t we check out our new bed?” I felt him smirk against my ear.  
“I’d like that, Daiki.”  
He briskly walked down the hall, but began to slow down, then fully stopped. “Uh. Where is the bedroom?”  
I chuckled lightly as he placed me back on the ground, and entwined our hands together, leading him through to the room.  
My amusement continued even as he pushed me down onto the bed and crawled over me, his lips hovering inches from mine. “I’m glad we finally have a place of our own…”  
I reached up to place a hand behind his head, pulling him down towards me. “Me too.”  
I closed my eyes as he softly pressed his lips against mine, pulling back before kissing me again, and again, each following kiss filled with slightly more urgency, becoming more clumsy and rough as he began to steadily unbutton my shirt with one hand.  
But he stopped.  
I opened my eyes to look at him in confusion as he moved back, looking at me with an unreadable expression. He stared back at me for a moment before giving me a slight smile.  
“Maybe…we should finish unpacking first?”  
I blinked up at him. “R-right…”

 

I was 37 when it became more evident.  
While I’d began to develop faint lines on multiple areas of my face, Aomine remained the same as he was when I’d first met him; perhaps even appearing younger due to the slight glow of his face and skin. It’d occurred to me multiple times before, seeing that he still seemed to permanently have the energy of an active teenager while my energy levels were vastly decreasing over time, despite a lack of lifestyle changes. I’d failed to ever mention it to him, unsure of how to word my thoughts without seeming as though I was merely complimenting him. I thought that my suspicions were idiotic – not something which ever really had to be mentioned. What I suspected was surely physically impossible.  
“I’m home.”  
I removed my shoes with a sigh. Work had become incredibly monotonous and tiring recently, with the many preliminary exams having to be marked, and organising lesson plans intended to help students who hadn’t studied. Having to organise such a large amount of information for irresponsible students was not only tiring, but also irritating, knowing that the stress and the importance shouldn’t be necessary, as the students should have been prepared enough by this point.  
“Yo, Tetsu.”  
I dropped my bag on the floor of the hall as I walked through to the living room, flopping down beside Aomine and leaning against him. “Another stressful day, huh?”  
I nodded with another sigh. “And it’s not over yet. I have a massive pile of tests to mark…” I exhaled deeply as Aomine wrapped an arm around my torso to pull me closer to him. “I’m so exhausted…”  
“No wonder,” he mumbled, running a hand up and down my arm. “They overwork you.”  
“Yeah…” I paused, inhaling deeply before continuing. “It’s weird…I’ve found myself getting tired more easily over the years but you…” I stopped talking as Aomine’s arm stiffened. He cleared his throat.  
“But I…?”  
“You’re as energetic as ever, Aomine-kun…”  
“I guess so…”  
I pressed my lips into a thin line as he failed to relax, his arm seemingly stuck in the same position. “Is there a reason for that?”  
“Hm.”  
I sighed, frowning at the TV. “That’s not really an answer, Aomine.”  
“I know…” His sigh matched mine. “But, it doesn’t really matter, right?” He leaned down to speak quietly into my ear. “It’s not like you dislike how much energy I have, hm?”  
I forced myself to relax. _This is stupid_ , I thought. _The exhaustion from work must be causing these strange thoughts._ “I guess not.”  
Aomine’s arm became less tense at my reply, and I leaned against him, my eyes already beginning to drift shut. 

On my 45th birthday, it was finally revealed to me. There was a certain point after which there could be no denying the obvious abnormality of his ageing process.  
I felt my chest becoming unpleasantly tight as he looked at me in both guilt and sadness, a layer of unshed tears glimmering in his eyes.  
“You’ve not aged a _bit_ in the 22 years I’ve known you for, Daiki. Did you really think I’d never notice? That I’d see myself slowly turning into an old man while you just…stayed the _same_?” I bit the inside of my cheeks, holding back my own emotions as his began to pour out.  
“This is a _hell_ of a lot harder for me than it is for you, Tetsu.” The tears began to flow down his cheeks then, and he furiously wiped them away with his sleeve. “Can you even _imagine_ what it’s like for me? To know that you’re eventually going to leave me alone? To watch you steadily becoming older and weaker, knowing that one day you’ll disappear, and I’ll still be here!?” Tears continued to flow, his eyes brimming. “Do you know what it’s like to fall in love with someone, to want to grow old with them, spend the rest of your life with them, knowing that you _can’t_?”  
I remained silent, my own tears threatening to spill as he continued to talk.  
“The thing is, after you die, _I’m still stuck here_! I’m still stuck here, Tetsuya,” his voice was beginning to crack, face crumpling. “Without you. And I just have to keep living, because _I can’t die_!” A small, pathetic sob left him, and his voice dropped almost to a whisper. “I can’t die even if I want to. I’m eventually going to have to continue to live without you, and I…” He turned away from me, hiding his eyes with his sleeve. “I don’t want to. I’ve spent the past 22 years falling in love with you. How…” He moved his sleeve back, reddened eyes meeting mine. “How can I possibly live without you, Tetsu?”  
“I…” I paused as my breathing hitched, and I became suddenly aware of my own wet cheeks. I began to walk towards him. “Daiki, I-”  
“You don’t understand _shit_ , Tetsu!”  
I gasped as he pushed me away from him, then exhaled shakily, my hands trembling as I looked down at the floor, vision blurring. I shut my eyes tightly. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Daiki. I’m sorry.”  
Neither of us spoke for a moment, silence only prevented by our shaky breaths, interrupted by small sniffs. I slowly looked up at him, only to find him already approaching me. He took me into his arms, hugging me tightly, my ear pressed against his hammering chest.  
I fell asleep that night with Aomine’s head on my chest, his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me close to him. 

I spent my last years in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines, Aomine by my side each day, tightly clutching my wrinkled hand. He never ceased to be with me, supporting me in my weakest moments.  
I gripped his hand, running my thumb over it. “Daiki…”  
“Tetsu.”  
I smiled weakly up at him, continuing to graze my thumb over his skin. “Talk to me,” I muttered, maintaining a smile. “Tell me, about all of the things you’ve lived through.”  
He blinked at me in confusion. “What do you mean?”  
“Well… What was your life like before you met me? Why were you drinking into the middle of the night when I first met you?”  
Aomine’s hand froze in mine, his eyes widening slightly. "Wh-why?”  
“Just talk to me.”  
Aomine audibly swallowed, his adam’s apple bobbing slightly in his throat.  
“Well… I can’t remember a massive amount of detail…” He held my hand in both of his, his gaze on the floor below him. “But I know that I was a basketball player at one point,” he laughed lightly, one hand tightening its grip. “I always thought I was some sort of…unbeatable genius…until I entered a worldwide competition, that is...my team was absolutely destroyed.  
“I…was a little bit of an asshole at the time; completely full of myself, thinking I was so much better than everyone else…” A small smile passed across his face. “Obviously I was proved wrong when I was so easily beaten…that brought me back to my senses.  
“I can’t really gather any memories about my parents… In fact, I can’t even remember _having_ any, but, then again, they’d have been alive hundreds of years ago, when I was still like a child… It was…never really explained to me why I aged so much slower than anyone else, or why it seemed to be impossible for me to be injured, or why I could sustain myself on a small amount of food, but…I guess I just accepted it. But I can’t really have any records of my existence anywhere, because it’s a little difficult not to notice that someone has been alive for such a long time and hardly aged…  
“I remember I once played a time travel prank on someone…met them when they were in their twenties, then didn’t see them again until they were in their seventies.” He began to laugh again. “They were incredibly confused. I didn’t see them at any point after that. I just said that I’d made a time machine, and then left again without any other explanations."  
He stopped talking as my grip began to loosen, glancing at me worriedly. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to tense any of my muscles, so I simply attempted to distract him.  
“You still haven’t told me why you were drinking that night.”  
“Ah, right…” His gaze dropped back to the floor. “You’re…not the first person I’ve fallen for. I’d been through a similar situation with someone else just before I met you…but it was different. They’d become bothered by the constant comments on the apparent age difference, and left me.” He shut his eyes and rested his head against our hands. “So I, you know, went to the bar to drown my sorrows. But that wasn’t quite so bad. I was with them for a much shorter amount of time. But Tetsu. You…” His eyes began to water, tears dripping onto my hand. “I’ve spent almost your entire lifetime with you…”  
“Daiki…” I smiled at him as he met my eyes. “You’ll find other people like me. You’ll see amazing things which I can only dream of…” I shakily released my hand from his to gently trace the edge of his cheek. “I know your life will be painful at times… You’ll experience things which no one else will, both good and bad.” My hand trembled as I wiped a tear from beneath his eye. “And I’ll still be with you. My hand trailed from his face to his chest, stopping over his heart. “Right here.”  
Aomine placed his hand over mine, squeezing it lightly.  
“Of course you will… I couldn't forget you.”  
“I want you to go on living…find more things to enjoy. Find more people whose lives you can improve, just as you did with mine. I know it’ll be like an endless cycle of having someone and then losing them, but you’ll find so many wonderful people, and so many wonderful things…” I felt his pulse increasing in speed against my hand as my vision began to fade, outlined in white.  
“Tetsu…” He choked back tears as he rested his head atop my chest, my hand falling to the side of the bed. “I love you. I won’t stop loving you…”  
The whiteness spread across my vision, my body weakening.  
“I love you too, Daiki.”  
The last sensation I felt was Aomine gripping the sheets beside me, wet tears reaching my skin, and the feeling of my last words leaving my lips; “thank you.”

 

Aomine crouched afore the gravestone, a single white rose in his hand. He smiled up at the sky as he spoke.  
“Today would’ve been our 100th anniversary, Tetsuya…” He breathed a short laugh, twirling the rose between his fingers. “You were right. I’ve experienced so many things. Yet…” He paused, shakily placing the rose next to the gravestone. “Yet you’re still the only thing I think about, most of the time.”  
A small breeze travelled past him, sending a slight shiver up his spine. “But you’ve still made my life significantly better. Even if you weren’t there for a massive part of it, you’ve still impacted the rest of my life. I wouldn’t have been the same without you, Tetsu…  
“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably slightly rushed and not as emotional as I intended. I also apologise if they were out of character... Oh well. Thanks for reading!


End file.
